1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary electric machine used in a vehicle, for example, as an electric motor or a generator, and in particular, to a rotary electric machine provided with a segmented type of stator winding.
2. Related Art
Rotary electric machines are used, for example, in vehicles. Such a rotary electric machine includes a rotor and a stator. A well-known stator includes a stator core which is arranged being radially opposed to the rotor and has a plurality of circumferentially arranged slots, and a stator winding which is wound about the stator core such that the conductors of the stator winding are accommodated in the slots and electrically connected to each other.
For example, a patent document JP-A-2009-261189 discloses a stator winding having coil end portions axially projected out of both axial end faces of the stator core. Each of the coil end portions is formed into a staircase pattern to reduce the axial length of the coil end portion that does not operate in a magnetic-circuit manner.
Recently, a small but high-power and high-quality rotary electric machine is sought for use as an electric motor or a generator. For a rotary electric machine installed in a vehicle, the space provided for it is becoming smaller and smaller, while the power of it is required to be enhanced more and more. In particular, a rotary electric machine used in a vehicle is arranged being coaxial with the dual mass flywheels, the engine, the gears and the like and hence there are more strict needs in reducing the size in the axial direction.